Virginia Tech hopes to follow solid outing with win against Navy

Field Level Media|published: Sat 14th December, 12:52 2024

Virginia Tech Hokies forward Mylyjael Poteat (34) shoots the ball as Michigan Wolverines center Vladislav Goldin (50) guards him during the first half of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division semifinal at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla., on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024.

Virginia Tech received contributions from up and down the roster Thursday when it halted a six-game losing streak.

Now, the Hokies will try to carry some of that firepower with them into their game on Sunday afternoon against Navy in Blacksburg, Va.

During its slide, Virginia Tech (4-6) had lost to five power-conference teams, including to Vanderbilt and Pitt at home last week. But the Hokies also fell 74-64 to Jacksonville of the ASUN Conference, and they needed a solid win.

And they got it Thursday when North Carolina A&T came to town. The Hokies shot 50 percent overall and dominated the glass 48-30 in a 95-67 victory, with 55 of their points coming from the bench.

Ben Hammond shot 6-for-6 with three 3-pointers on his way to career highs of 17 points, five steals and four assists. Eleven players scored in all.

"A really nice night from our bench, and (we) need that moving forward," Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said.

Young was pleased that his team recorded 16 assists on 20 made field goals in the first half. Not everything was rosy, as the Hokies committed 16 turnovers. Starting point guard Brandon Rechsteiner (8.3 points, 3.5 assists per game) had four.

"You can't kick the damn ball from your quarterback, from the point guard spot. I've never experienced that in my 23 years and I'm gonna hammer it home, or it's gonna take me off our planet Earth here," Young said.

The Hokies' penultimate non-conference game comes against Navy (3-7), which has lost three in a row.

Most recently, the Midshipmen visited NJIT on Dec. 7 and fell 69-64, despite a career day from Donovan Draper. The forward scored a personal-best 22 points (10-of-17 shooting) while tying his career high of 16 rebounds.

"I thought Draper did a good job," Navy coach Ed DeChellis told the academy's athletics website. "He was really active in there and drove the basketball and got to the rim."

Austin Benigni drives the Navy offense with 17.2 points and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range. Aidan Kehoe adds an average of 10 points and 7.9 rebounds.

Tobi Lawal (11.7 ppg) and Mylyjael Poteat (10.5) are Virginia Tech's two double-digit scorers.

--Field Level Media

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